Major & Career Exploration Guide

Exploration and Assessments

Major Exploration

Researching Majors

Career Exploration

Occupation Comparisons Grid

Career Decision Making Explained

Career Decision Making Activity

2

4

6

7

8

10

11

2

↑ Back to Top

Exploration and AssessmentThe Major & Career Exploration Guide is helpful for students who are in the process of determining a major or career path. This guide will introduce you to a series of self-assessments and activities designed to identify careers/occupations that are a good fit with your personality style, skills, interests, and values.

Major and career exploration is the first of four milestones in our Roadmap to Career Success. Once you have completed self assessment and career exploration, you will be ready to move onto the next milestones and build specific skills through internships, service learning, and co-curricular activities.

What is major and career exploration?Major exploration is the process of exploring and deciding on an undergraduate major or field of study. Career exploration is the process of researching, evaluating, and learning about a variety of occupations and career opportunities. After completing self assessment inventories, you will have some ideas of majors and careers of interest to further explore. This guide will help you navigate the vast amounts of career-related data and narrow down your options, as well as make some decisions on majors and/or careers to pursue.

What is self-assessment? Self-assessment is the starting point in the career development process. In order to determine what you want to do, you must understand how your personal preferences, strengths and interests determine what is meaningful to you in life and work. We offer several formal career assessments that are easy to complete online in a survey format and offer a list of potential majors and careers of interest based on how you answer a series of questions.

Self-assessments can be conducted on the following areas and attempt to answer the following questions:

• Personality - What are your natural preferences and traits?• Interests - What do you like to do? • Values - What is important to you?• Skills - What are your strengths? What are your areas of growth?

Career assessments are not tests or measures of aptitude--there are no right or wrong answers. Self-assessments are meant to be used as a guide for decision making, not a rule. Since both careers and personalities are multifaceted, the focus of interpretation is on identifying key themes which are unique to each individual. Therefore, it is recommended that you discuss your assessment results with a professional career counselor.

Follow these 4 Essential Milestones

Complete the Focus2 online self-assessment to connect your interests and personality with majors and career paths.

Learn more about career paths by finding a mentor via SJSU² Mentoring & Meetups and con-duct informational interviews

Find on-campus and work study positions posted in Handshake

Log in to Handshake and fill out your career interest survey to customize your job and internship feed and apply to opportunities

Develop new skills using LinkedIn Learning

Start completing your Career Plan Checklist to ensure you are on track to meet your career goals

Apply to positions 3-9 months before graduation or review graduate school options

Practice interviewing with the Big Interview online platform

Finalize your Career Plan Checklist and confirm your progress with a career counselor

Ta

ke

Act

ion

2. Identify Your Skills

BuildExperience

3.

Launch Your Career

4.

1.Explore YourOptions

Your Roadmap to Career Success!

* all events detailed in Handshake

Attend employer connection events* (on and off campus)

Attend the New Grad Career Bootcamp*

Compare your skills to your target positions and identify skills to build using the Job Gap Analysis handout

Use the VMock platform to perfect your resume and upload it to Handshake

Build experience by joining Recognized Student Organizations Attend job & internship fairs*

Attend the Leadership & Career Conference*

Attend the Career Carnival*

If you need guidance along the way, connect with our Career Counseling Team.sjsu.edu/careercenter

3

↑ Back to Top

The SJSU Career Center offers a variety of assessment tools to students. Most do not require a referral by an academic advisor or career counselor, but it is highly recommended that you consult with your career counselor to select the most appropriate assessments based on your career goals as well as scheduling an appointment to review results.

Below is more information about each assessment and how to access:

Focus2 (free and accessible using SSO)Platform offers assessments that help you identify work interests and personality preferences that connect to occupations and majors. After completing the assessments, you can also create an educational and career plans to help you reach your goals. Career Values Assessment is designed to help you explore and identify your top career values. When your values are aligned with your career and employer, you will feel more satisfied and rewarded by your work.

Skills Inventory helps you identify and organize your top career-related skills and competencies. Once you’ve selected your most important skills, you can find occupations that will give you the opportunity to best use your skills. MBTI (additional cost by referral/request only) is one of the most widely used personality assessment tools. Developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother Katherine Briggs, they made C.G. Jung’s theory of psychological types is easy to understand and accessible to people.Through a series of questions, the MBTI helps you assess the following:

• What energizes you (Extroversion/Introversion)• How you best process information (Sensing/

Intuition)• How you prefer to make decisions (Feeling/

Thinking)• How you organize yourself in the world

(Judging/Perceiving)

Strong Interest Inventory (additional cost by referral/request only) is an assessment that helps you explore your interests in six different areas (known as Holland Codes):

• Realistic (building)• Investigative (thinking)• Artistic (creative)• Social (helping)• Enterprising (persuading)• Conventional (organizing)

Developed by E. K. Strong Jr., the purpose of the inventory is to connect occupations to these areas of interests. While individuals can have interests across all thematic areas, there are typically higher levels of interest in three of the six areas, which are known as Holland codes. Many occupational databases and inventories are organized by these occupational codes.

Let’s get started!In order to determine the assessment that can help increase the likelihood of making a smart, well-informed career or major decision, you can do a quick self-check. Review the statements and/or questions below and note which of them applies to you. You will be directed to the appropriate activity to start your exploration:

• I need to decide on a major but have so many interests it is hard to decide.

• I need to decide on a major but I have no idea what I am good at.

• I arrived at college with a major in mind but after taking a couple of classes, I am not sure that this major is a good fit for me. How can I figure out if I should stay or change majors?

• I enjoy my major but I am not sure what career path to choose after graduation.

• I know what I am good at and what my strengths are. What careers would be the best fit for me?

• I have an idea of what I am interested in. What occupations fit my interests?

4

↑ Back to Top

Major ExplorationMajor exploration is simply the process of exploring and deciding on an undergraduate major (field of study) and involves doing self-assessment and research. Someone who is ready to explore majors may be asking themselves questions such as:

• I need to decide on a major but have so many interests it is hard to decide. What should I do?

• I need to decide on a major but I have no idea what I am good at. Where do I start?

• I have major in mind but after taking a couple of classes, I am not sure this major is a good fit for me. How can I figure out if I should change my major?

• I am undeclared and need to declare a major. Which major do I choose?

• I have declared a major but notice that my interests have changed. What other majors can I consider?

• I have not met the academic requirements in my current major and need to explore other majors. How do I do this?

Keep in mind that major does not always equal a career. Your undergraduate education should prepare you for learning how to: collect and analyze data, solve complex problems, understand how humanistic and social factors influence outcomes, and communicate effectively. We recommend that you pursue what you are most curious about and then work with your career counselor to determine how to build transferable skills.

Consider common myths and facts about majors and careers before you begin the self-assessment process:

Your major will determine your career for the rest of

your life.

Your college major is just the first step in your career journey. Gaining additional training, certification, and work experience can lead to various

careers throughout one’s life. Learn more about successful business leaders who earned liberal arts degrees.

Your major prepares you for one specific career.

While there are specific career paths that require certain majors ( e.g. accounting, nursing, engineering fields) the majority of careers require

broad skills developed through undergraduate education with industry or company specific skills learned through internships or on the job.

An introductory college course on a subject will tell you everything you need to know about the major.

An introductory course provides a high-level overview of a topic but reviewing ALL the required coursework for a major will provide a more

comprehensive view of the subject.

MYTH FACT

5

↑ Back to Top

Step 1: Complete the following self-assessments.

a. SJSU Focus2 Work Interest and Personality Assessments found in Focus2. Use the Explore Your Focus2 Results worksheet to write down your responses.

b. Complete the Skills Inventory to select top skills that are most important to you as a student, an intern, a volunteer or at work.

Step 2: Research.Once you have identified at least 3 majors of interest as listed in your Focus2 Results, it is time to learn aboutrelated careers/occupations. Tip: You can save your favorite majors in Focus2 by clicking Save this Major.

Step 3: Once you’ve ranked your majors, select which option applies to you.

If you need to declare or change a major:

1. Check MySJSU often for messages about deadlines from AARS. 2. Evaluate your majors of interest by reading the course descriptions in the SJSU catalog.3. Review the Colleges and Departments website for overview of major and career paths.4. If you are undeclared, meet with an AARS advisor.5. Meet with an academic and/or major advisor in the college success center to check for eligibility. 6. Submit the add/change of major form.

If you declared a major and would like to stay in that major:1. Share your Focus2 Interest Assessment Results worksheet with a career counselor/academic advisor.

Discuss majors and career paths that align with your interest areas. 2. Build Experience. Meet with your career counselor and discuss how to design your undergraduate

experience so that you can build transferable skills aligned with your long-term career goals.3. Review the Career Pathways page to see job/internship feeds by industry and top employers who hire

SJSU students within the following career pathway:

Arts, Communication, Entertainment

Business, Financial Services, Logistics

Education, Public & Human Services

Health Fitness & Nutrition

Technology & Engineering

6

↑ Back to Top

Researching MajorsUse the following resources to complete the table:SJSU Catalog - Column2 (search for required/core courses at SJSU catalog). Focus2 - Column 3-5 (select “what can I do with this major?”).

Major Options

List 5 courses that are required

for the major

Rate your level of interest in these 5 courses (e.g.

1-least interested, 5 highly

interested)

List 3 occupations/careers that are

related to the major

What are the skill andcompetency areas

linked to this major?

What is your Holland Code?

(e.g. AES)

Now that your research is completed rank your majors of interest from 1-3 (1 being the highest).

1.

2.

3.

What questions remain for you as you explore this option?

7

↑ Back to Top

Career ExplorationCareer exploration is the process of learning about various occupations and how they connect with your preferences and future career goals. Someone who is ready to explore careers/occupation may be asking themselves questions like:

• I enjoy my major but I am not sure what career path to choose after graduation.

• What occupations/careers would be the best fit for me based on my strengths and skills?

• What occupations or industries are most aligned with my interest areas?

• What do I do if I have multiple career interest areas?

The first part of the career exploration process is to conduct self-assessment. Identifying your interests, values,and skills, as well as how you want to connect these traits to your work will help you pursue meaningful careerpaths. The second part of the process will consist of career research. Complete the following activities to getstarted.

Step 1: Complete the following self-assessments.

a. SJSU Focus2 Work Interest and Personality Assessments found in Focus2. Use the Explore Your Focus2 Results worksheet to write down your responses.

b. Complete the Skills Inventory to select top skills that are most important to you as a student, an intern, a volunteer or at work.

c. Complete the Career Values Assessment to select top values that are most important to you in your career.

Step 2: Research.

1. Occupational research can be done on Focus2 or O*Net, both databases connect to occupation reports developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

2. Enter your Holland code here and select 3 careers from your Holland Code list to explore further. As you select your top 3 occupations, be sure to also reflect on your top career values and skills.

3. After you have identified your top 3 occupations, complete the Occupation Comparison Grid on the next page.

a. Focus2: Read through the career listings from your assessment results, select an occupation listed under occupations matching your results. Click Save this Occupation if you would like to revisit this again.

b. O*NET onetonline.org: Use the occupation quick search to look up careers by title. O*NET will offer additional career options beyond what is listed on Focus2. You can also search for occupations in this database by using your 3 letter Holland Code (Ex: SAE).

8

↑ Back to Top

Occupation Comparisons GridUse the following resources to complete the table:Focus2 - Select Explore Careers and select occupationOnetonline.org - Type occupation title in search bar.

Occupation Title

Top 3 tasks for this occupation(what do they

do?)

Top 5 skills necessary for this? Do they

match your skills?

Top 3 work values that align with your values? (based on

Career Values Assessment results

Earnings (Median in CA)

Holland Code for

this occupation

SJSU Majors that

connect to this occupation(Found on Focus2)

Now that your research is completed rank your occupations of interest from 1-3 (1 being the highest).

1.

2.

3.

9

↑ Back to Top

Occupation Comparisons: Next StepsOnce you’ve ranked your occupations, you can do one or all of these options:

1. Complete the Career Decision Making Activity on page 11. Share this with your career counselor. Connect with an academic advisor if you are considering changing your major based on your career exploration.

2. Keep track of your career exploration journey with the Career Plan Checklist. Share this with your career counselor, academic advisor, mentors, and parents as you make some decisions and seek support.

3. Explore career pathways related to SJSU majors. You can review job/internship positions, employers that have hired SJSU students, and professional organizations by these pathways, as well as connect with a career counselor who specializes in each pathway.

4. Identify, research, and connect with career profressionals in your fields of interest using SJSU² Mentoring & Meetup platform and LinkedIn Alumni Search.

5. Conduct Informational Interviews which are short, 20-30 minute, career conversations that can provide insight on whether a career path is a good match for you. Review Conducting Informational Interviews on page 5 of the Job/Internship Search Guide for more tips and advice on informational interviewing.

6. Attend career panels and employer events. Use SJSU Handshake to search for career panels, information sessions, job fairs, and alumni events taking place on and off campus.

10

↑ Back to Top

Career Decision Making ExplainedOnce you have completed the self assessment and career exploration process, it’s time to narrow down options and make some decisions.

The next activity will help you use the DECIDE model to make well thought-out decisions. You can apply thisdecision making process to more than just career decisions, it serves as a good framework for academic and life decisions as well. The DECIDE model was originally developed by So Barnard to assist with decision making by the Federal Aviation Administration, as pilots needed a succinct and easy to follow framework when making high stakes decisions. The model has since been used to assist with the decision making process in various industries including healthcare and career exploration.

Here is an example of the steps and how an undeclared student could use it.

1. (D)efine the problem or decision to be made Example: What major should I choose from the top 3 that I ranked in the Major Exploration Activity?

2. (E)stablish your criteria based on your values Example: I want to choose a major based on my interests, one that is not impacted, and that will allow me to graduate in 4 years.

3. (C)hoose a few options that match your criteriaExample: Based on my Focus2 results my top 3 majors of interest are sociology, psychology, and English.

4. (I)dentify and compare the pros and cons of each option

Example: Based on my values, I want to study something I’m interested in and curious about, but also that isn’t impacted and will allow me to graduate within 4 years. None of these majors are impacted and I can finish them within 4 years but I think I’m more drawn to sociology and psychology versus English. I still don’t know what the main differences are between sociology and psychology. I think I need more information on career paths for these majors.

5. (D)ecide Example: I think sociology or psychology could be a good major for me, but I still need more information. I can make an appointment with my career counselor to review career paths and maybe an academic advisor to learn more about the different classes I’d have to take in each major. I’ll make those appointments today.

6. (E)valuate the results Example: After I met with my career counselor, I learned that there were very similar career paths for both majors but that psychology focused more on the study of human behavior through individuals and small groups while sociology focuses on human behavior from a systems/social perspective. They both sound interesting, and my academic advisor shared that I can take some psychology or sociology courses as part of my GEs. I think I will take a course in psychology and see how I like it before making a final decision on my major. This will help me get a better understanding of the courses and will still keep me on track to graduate in 4 years.

11

↑ Back to Top

Career Decision Making ActivityReview the DECIDE Model diagram. Complete this activity to help with your career decision making process.

1. Define the problem. (Write your problem in the form of a question.)

2. Establish criteria based on your top values. Identify your top 5 values by completing the Career Values Assessment.

To further explore your values, answer the following questions.Major Exploration: Of the majors you are considering, which majors are most closely related to your values? Describe how your values will be supported within this major.

Career Exploration: Of the careers you are considering, which careers will allow you to meet your top values? Describe how your values will be represented in your work.

3. Choose 3 options from your Major Exploration or Career Exploration results that match your criteria. If you have completed both Major Exploration and Career Exploration and came up with varying major and/or career options, rank them and select your top 3.

Option 1:

Option 2:

Option 3:

12

↑ Back to Top

4. Identify and compare the pros and cons of each option.

5. Decide the most logical option for your situation and identify action steps/tasks needed to be taken (e.g. consult with a career counselor/advisor, build experience such as volunteer or internship, conduct informational interview with an alumni/other professional).

6. Evaluate the results of your decision. Review and make adjustments as needed. Consult with yourcareer counselor if needed.

Major or Career Options Pros Cons Rank 1 to 3

(1=top rank)